Heat G Ray Allen Says Biased Media Coverage Prompts Bandwagon Fans

Heat G Ray Allen last week in a visit to the Washington Post was asked about the team's "bandwagon fans" and the media’s coverage of sports and the NBA, according to Dan Steinberg of WASHINGTON POST. He said, "Some of these people, have never been to Miami before. I think it’s the machine of SportsCenter. ... Look at all the media outlets, from First Take to PTI to Around the Horn, that talk about the same stuff. We haven’t played for two weeks, and I think every time I turn on SportsCenter, they talked about LeBron in some form. And he hasn’t done anything but just be on vacation. So as much as we blame the fans for being bandwagon, it’s mostly the media’s fault. Because the media’s the one that continues to feed the machine." He added, "The way the league is portrayed is what (the media) puts out there. So for people all over America, that’s what you see on a daily basis. That’s ultimately what you’re going to end up cheering for and liking. People know Norris Cole more than they know anybody in the starting five for the Charlotte Bobcats, and Norris Cole comes off the bench for us in Miami, just as well as I do. If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s the league’s fault, because we need to do a better job of marketing every team -- players, bios, everything. I think the NFL does a great job of that. You talk about every team, every Sunday. I truthfully would like to see even the bad teams (in the discussion); if you talk about them, you put the pressure on them to have to be better." Allen continued, "As great as the NBA is, that’s something we could do better. That bottom quarter of teams in the NBA that kind of always hover there -- there has got to be a way to make sure they continue to put pressure on them to be better" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 7/18).